§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if his Department has issued any guidance to chief education officers regarding comments and information they are able to issue following a vote by parents in favour of a secondary school opting out of local authority control.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe Department wrote on 13 February to the chief education officer of every local education authority in England setting out my right hon. Friend's views on the conduct of ballots on whether a school should seek grant-maintained status. That letter made it clear that it is in the interests of parents, governors and others that all discussion about a possible application by a school should be well-informed. Accordingly, it asked local education authorities to ensure that any information they 417W provide is factually correct, and represents a proper use of public money. The same principles apply after a ballot as before.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to use his powers under the Education Reform Act to prevent a local education authority from issuing material designed to influence support for an opting-out proposal following a ballot by parents in favour of such a proposal.
§ Mrs. RumboldNo. Where parents vote to seek grant-maintained status for their school the governing body must publish formal proposals to my right hon. Friend within six months. The local education authority and other interested parties may submit comments on or objections to those proposals within two months of publication, and my right hon. Friend will take these into account in considering and determining the application on its merits.